Yahoo Change Request Worked!

[Advisor]

Hey Guys,

When I got my Yahoo Biz Express listings for HighRankings.com way back in March 2000, they put me in a local Ashland, MA category and my Title was Whalen's Web Whiz (as opposed to HighRankings.com because I was still using both on the site). I didn't bother to appeal the category or anything else at the time, because I was just happy to get in and didn't want to make any waves. I figured my category might not matter anyway. It did kind of irk me though, because I've never done any local business.

Well, a few weeks ago (12/31/01) just for fun I figured I'd submit a change request. I decided to be really bold and request the category change, the Title change, plus figured a description change would also be nice!

My old description was:

Offers site copywriting and optimization for high rankings in the search engines.

Which is fairly accurate, but didn't encompass everything.

So I filled out the change request form, figuring it would go straight to their delete folder like I hear so many other people's go. I requested
this category (http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Marketing_and_Advertising/Internet/Promotion/Search_Engine_Placement_Improvement/) submitted the following comments (they limit the characters in your comments so you've got to be concise!):

Not Whalen's Web Whiz, but HighRankings.com. Does national business not local to Ashland, MA, and expanded scope of services. Also, in the comments I mentioned my biz express order number from the original order.

Lo and behold, tonight I was just checking to see how RW was doing in Yahoo (14) and there was HighRankings.com at 20! And with my new description intact:

Offers search engine optimization, copywriting, and directory submissions.

Either Yahoo just likes me, there is a God, or they really do look at their change requests! The main reason for doing this was to see if things had changed at all, and apparently they have. This is hopefully good news for some clients that may also be in need of a change. If nothing else, it probably won't hurt to give it a try.

Jill

[ihelpyou]

Wow Jill. That is great! I do think you happened to hit an editor who was having a really good day. That is not the norm, but maybe they are changing. Maybe they figure they have to in order to get us to keep submitting sites and then paying the yearly fee?

I see I am moving up as well. Maybe I should suggest a desc. change? hmm.

[Farhan]

Hey thats great Jill,

However i prefer to appeal using the Bizex mail, if its a commercial site. People wont belive, but I have got my Site title changed for THREE times through this mail. :D

[ihelpyou]

sheesh Farhan, that is something that is not the norm as well!

[Advisor]

Originally posted by Farhan
Hey thats great Jill,

However i prefer to appeal using the Bizex mail, if its a commercial site. People wont belive, but I have got my Site title changed for THREE times through this mail. :D Farhan, even after a year or more has passed? I thought about using that, but figured I'd try the change route first.

J

[Kal]

That's great guys! I too think that things are improving over at Yahoo. They are getting faster with their free listing submissions and I've also had luck with a change request in the past few months (for a client though).

[kaj]

Congratulations, Jill! You must have been on an all-day high after that :).

I'm actually finding Yahoo rather sluggish at the moment; for several months I was graced with one-week waits to get clients' commercial sites into the directory via free submission; although I've never really tried for a change request (assuming it was near-impossible.)

Unfortunately it's been several weeks now without recent sites being included, which is a bit of a pity; but I guess we were pretty lucky with the one-week turnaround -- shouldn't complain!

With this piece of good news, I may very well go through some old listings and see if the change form will produce results. That said, many of the older listings are quite good indeed (being way too verbose to be accepted these days) so I'll have to find one that's had a rough time.

If others have found success with similar change requests, please do post about them; if only to impart hope upon the rest of us!

Warmest regards,
Kaj

[OptWizard]

OK
What email did you use to change I need to change a website and have not succeded yet...:confused:

[Advisor]

Originally posted by OptWizard
OK
What email did you use to change I need to change a website and have not succeded yet...:confused: Not email, Opt, their change request form.

Jill

[Farhan]

I filled the change form for one of my sites for which i needed a title change, hoping they would prefer this way! and to my surprise they DID

My title is changed and the site got a straight 2nd position.

Thanks Jill :) and Yahoo! :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:

[Advisor]

Way to go, Farhan! I think things are getting better at Yahoo in that respect. Yay!

J

[katiebear]

Farhan,
How long did it take for your title change to take place?

[Farhan]

12 days !

[KathyA]

First of all, congrats, Jill!!!

Secondly, it is ironic you are discussing the Yahoo Change Request Form, because I was just about to start a new thread about that.

I'm about to submit my site to Yahoo. People have recommended the paid Yahoo Express. However, Yahoo says I should not use Express if our company is already indexed. We are indeed listed in Yahoo (in the regional section.) I don't know if my company has ever submitted to Yahoo before; we might have just gotten listed b/c Yahoo came across us??

Anyway, our rank is very low, and I want to appear in addtl. categories where I see my competitors (ex. computers).

Yahoo's guidelines say that, since I'm already listed, I should use the free "change form". And in section 2.6 of <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/terms.html> , it says "If you submit change requests through Yahoo Express you will be charged the then-current, applicable initial consideration fee, AND THE CHANGES WILL NOT BE MADE."

Does anyone have suggestions? It was my understanding that Express gets you much better rankings than free submission, but I don't want to agitate Yahoo. And after reading this thread, I am having second thoughts.

Any input is appreciated! Thanks!
K

[Advisor]

Kathy,

Yes, you have the ultimate challenge ahead of you. Do NOT submit via yahoo express or you will definitely lose your money. Try the change request and see what happens. You might even comment in your change request that they can delete your site all together from the directory. At least if they do that, you can then submit through Biz Ex.

It's really a big Catch22. They are doing a better job on change requests as evidenced by mine and others, but it's possible that they're only doing a good job on the ones that were originally paid for submissions. Certainly, you have nothing to lose by attempting a change request. Just be reasonable with your changes, and make sure it's clear why they are necessary. The key is to make sure they know that the current listing isn't accurate in some way. Doesn't accurately depict your business, or something like that. This is key.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Jill

[KathyA]

Kewl. That is a good point about telling Yahoo they can 'delete my site' if it's in the wrong category. Will give it a try!

[Advisor]

Kathy, just noticed you're in Boston. Are you right in the city or a suburb? I'm in Ashland (near Framingham).

Jill

[KathyA]

Oh, yes. I saw you're in Ashland. I'm actually in Tyngsboro, near Lowell.

[Advisor]

Ah yes, about 45 minutes away or so.

J

[bkztx]

I got my site listed with Yahoo through biz express last week. I can find my site listed in my category, but not by doing a general search. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

[Advisor]

Hey Bk, long time no see!

You'll need to give it a few more days before it's searchable. Then you'll be fine. This is the normal course of events with them, so don't worry about it.

Jill

[ihelpyou]

Good to see you Barbara! :hi:

[bkztx]

Good to be back! I went to Russia to adopt a little boy (2 years old) and also sold my house and moved to another. Finally found my way back to my business and the forum. I will have to do alot of reading here to catch up with things ;)

[Advisor]

Wow, good for you! Hopefully while you were away, your rankings were just going higher and higher!

Good luck with the 2 year old. I'm sure he will keep you hopping!

Jill

[Kal]

That's great news Barbara! My cousins recently adopted also after 9 long years of trying and many failed IVF attempts. The new baby girl has brought much joy to the family... Congratulations :cheers: